Flypro
Our vision
Our vision is to help the government to reduce stunting cases in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) province by cultivating black soldier fly larvae (BSFL): a new promising protein source by providing high protein feed for livestock. We aim in five years; our innovation can contribute to the decrement of stunting case and reduce the food waste in this area for better health, environment, and financial status.
Our solution
Stunting is still the main problem in NTT as the number of cases continuously increases. In 2018, children prevalence who suffered from stunting in NTT was 42.6%, and even far from the national number of 30.8% (BPS, 2018). The increase in stunting cases in NTT is mainly due to the lack of protein source as planting the crop and raising the livestock is quite tricky. This region has an arid climate (long dry season) and low rainfall intensity that can affect farming productivity, including lack of source of animal feed. As a consequence, livestock is malnourished, which results in a low ability to reproduce. People in NTT rely on broiler chickens' commodity and their derived products, such as eggs. However, limited broiler chickens' feed resource has been a common issue that affects the productivity of the broiler chickens. The broiler chickens' sector is the most significant contributor to inflation in this province, with 0.44 % from 1.84%. The government has introduced many programs to enhance the production of broiler chickens; one of them is by increasing the production of livestock's feed. The local government commits to support this sector by giving easy access to build a start-up in the livestock's feed sector and financial supports. By far, to fulfil the livestock feed needs, the government focuses on increasing crop production, including enhancing corn, rice, and soybean production for livestock's feed. However, this strategy is not effective as this can be a competitor in human food fulfilment. The lack of variety of livestock feed has driven the Indonesian government to support the animal feed industry to start operating in NTT. Therefore, we propose introducing BSFL as a better protein source of feed for livestock. BSFL can recycle organic matters that are typically become waste, such as spent grains and food residue, into quality proteins, fats, amino acid, vitamins and minerals (Bessa et al., 2020). The agricultural crops can now only be focused on human food consumption. NTT is well-known for its tourism destination; one of them is Komodo island. Many restaurants and resorts are found as well as food waste produced are vast. The untreated waste food will always be a problem if it is not appropriately handled. Therefore, we see this as an opportunity to use the wasted foods to enhance the productivity of the BSFL by having high nutrient content.
Our market
The need for livestock feeds in NTT is estimated at 200.000 tons/year. Our target market is poultry feed in the East Sumba area, which are expected to around 671.750 broiler chickens in 2020 (BPS, 2020). Broiler chickens need 2.2 kg of poultry feed before they can be harvested (4 weeks old). It means that the need for broiler feed is estimated at around 1.2 million kilograms per month. In the first month of the production, we estimate to produce 3000-4500 kg per month. The leading target group for the BSFL product is the broiler chickens’ farmers in NTT. There are three scenarios on how we sell our products. First, by cooperating with the government to supply BSFL as livestock's feeds for farmers as the government are also seeking a new alternative animal feed. The second, by selling the BSFL products directly to the farmers. Third, Flypro will also cooperate with the animal feed producers instead of competing with them by providing a source of protein for animal feed composition. A collaboration with NGO will be expected to alliance with other stakeholders with the same vision and mission.
About the team
Our team consists of three Wageningen University & Research (WUR) students originating from Indonesia. Zahtamal (MSc Plant Sciences), an entomologist, has done several researches for the past two years to unlock the further potential of insects. He understands the rearing mechanism and the biological condition of the black soldier fly. Fanny Taralandu (MSc Health and Nutrition) has a background in health, nutrition, and social empowerment. She is one of the pioneers in stunting reduction of East Nusa Tenggara province and has strong connections with the local government. Fadel Muhammad (MSc Environmental Sciences) spent his last two years advocating a sustainable and eco-friendly system for business processes. He is also passionate about initiating a circular economy and sustainable community development. All team members are excited to develop their ideas on Rethink Protein Challenge and willing to support each other.